Archive by Author

the other day, i went to a workshop for phd students. no one was sitting there on their laptops half listening while they blogged or looked at web comics. everyone was sitting attentively, making notes on paper, with pens! i told this story to luke last night. i was telling him about how perth has […]

plazes: yet another way for self-surveillance mechanism that also incorporates the every addictive element of collection that turns games like world of warcraft into crack. basically, you collect internet access points, and it plots it on a map and you can show your friends and have it automatically update to your msn or skype name. […]

i talked to greg early this morning about jack layton being on facebook. he told me kinda fearfully (or maybe its just me projecting) that he thinks facebook could get so big it just never goes away. like email or msn messenger. he pointed that facebook is moving upwards, age wise, which is usually an […]

i found an amazing article today on the political economy of facebook, myspace and the other usual suspects written by ryan bigge (former adbusters staffer before kalle lasn went apeshit and turned the mag into an antisemitic brand of shoes). basically, bigge argues that use of social networking sites can actually be seen as unpaid […]

i just got the audience feedback from the panel i was on at sxsw. overall, most of the comments were pretty good. but my jaw dropped when i saw this…two people asked why the panel was all women. another said “don’t invite these soccer moms* again.” wow. somehow i don’t think the numerous all-male panels […]

i’m obsessed with how people (myself very muchly included) are obsessed with facebook and world of warcraft. meta-obsessed, if you will. i became fascinated with both independently, but the more i use both the more i see some interesting similarities between the two (and a lot of interesting contrasts, which i will probably write more […]

i’m doing research on the culture of facebook in attempt to narrow down my thesis topic, and came across doc mara’s genius description of facebook friending “as a quick consumption deal rather like Pokemon.” its funny cuz its true. gotta catch em all!

secretsoflife sent me this. its a new campaign to try and convince kids not to share their personal info online. they’ll even send you a ring to help you remember. a real ring. not a ringtone, like i originally thought… like one that plays some cheesy message every time your phone rings telling you it […]

globalkids and gamelab recently released a pretty impressive flash game called ayiti: the cost of life where you a play a family in haiti trying to get ahead. it’s compelling and educational (and addictive). in playing, you directly experience the obstacles that keep people in the poverty cycle. the first time i played, my whole […]

i’m doing a survey of online youth civic engagement initiatives and i came across this: Pennies to Protect Police Dogs Eleven year-old Stacey Hillman started Pennies to Protect Police Dogs in March of 2000 after reading an article about police dogs and their dangerous jobs. The article told the story of a police dog that […]